Sweet Paris

Seasonal Recipes from an American Baker in France

Frank Adrian Barron

• Publisher: Harper
• Year: 2022
• Print ISBN:
  9780063040236
• eBook ISBN:
  9780063040243
• Topic: Art
• Subtopic: Culinary Arts

A dazzling baking cookbook featuring 59 seasonal dessert recipes with American and French influences, accompanied by exquisite photographs and tips on serving and hosting with French flair for any occasion, from a casual afternoon teatime to an intimate dinner party to a festive holiday gathering.

Moving to Paris in the winter of 2012, California native Frank Adrian Barron reveled in exploring his new city. Exploring Paris's different arrondissements, he would sample the assortment of patisseries on offer in each—Madeleines, macarons, éclairs, Paris-Brest, mont-blancs, and other sweet, buttery delicacies.

But as much as he loved these delicate confections, he eventually found himself longing for a taste of home. To satisfy his cravings, he began recreating in his Paris kitchen the classic desserts he'd enjoyed growing up in Southern California—childhood favorites like his mom's signature Cinnamon Brown Sugar Bundt Cake, Lemon Bars, and classic American-style layer cakes. When word of his delicious desserts spread, Frank went from hosting intimate afternoon cake parties for friends to baking for local cafes. Soon he was known best for making French desserts inspired by American ingredients and American desserts with bit of French flair. His profile rose with notice from French and American publications, including Time Out Paris, Bake from Scratch, and Fou de Pâtisserie, and soon, Frank was hosting cake decorating workshops in his Marais apartment, accepting commissions, and developing a devoted following as @cakeboyparis on Instagram.

In Sweet Paris, Frank brings together the best elements of French style and American baking. Inspired by the tradition of l'heure du goûter, a daily French tradition similar to British teatime, and autour de la table, the idea of gathering around the table with good friends and delicious food, Sweet Paris is a love letter to the sublime world of desserts and the City of Light. Here are 59 recipes for irresistible baked goods, organized by season, using the peak fruits and flavors of each, including:

Spring—Cherry Blossom Financiers, Coconut Pineapple Layer Cake, Rhubarb Tart, Very Vanilla Cake

Summer—Strawberry Tart, Chocolate Cherry Layer Cake, Lavender Honey Madeleines, Pavlova with Summer Berries

Fall—Mirabelle Upside Down Cake, Apple Cardamom Tea Cake, Praline All Day Cake, Gâteau Opera

Winter—Medjool Date Cake in Orange Caramel Sauce, White Chocolate and Cassis Bûche de Noël, Lemon Meringue Cake, Blood Orange Mini Bundts, Alsatian Gingerbread

In addition, Frank offers tips and advice for becoming a quintessential Parisian host, including creating stunning floral arrangements, creating the perfect cheese plate, setting the table with French flair, and much more. Illustrated with Joann Pai's gorgeous photographs, this wonderful cookbook and style guide delivers a taste of sweet Paris no matter where you are.

This love letter to the sublime world of desserts and the City of Light features:

• 59 Seasonal Dessert Recipes: Organized by season, find the perfect treat for any occasion, from light Cherry Blossom Financiers in spring to a rich White Chocolate and Cassis Bûche de Noël for winter celebrations.
• French Style Meets American Baking: Discover the magic of Frank's kitchen, where he recreates childhood favorites like his mom's Cinnamon Brown Sugar Bundt Cake with a Parisian twist.
• Impressive Cakes for Any Skill Level: Go from hosting intimate cake parties to baking for local cafes with recipes for classic American-style layer cakes and elegant French patisseries.
• Hosting with French Flair: Learn the secrets of a quintessential Parisian host, with tips on creating stunning floral arrangements, assembling the perfect cheese plate, and setting a beautiful table.

Chapter 1

Le Printemps

{ Spring }

Photograph by Frank Adrian Barron

YOU’VE ALREADY HEARD me say it: Baking by season has taught me the delight of indulging in ingredients at their most delicious. But it’s also schooled me in the art of anticipation—and the pleasure that exists in getting excited for what’s to come.

No other season has prepped me for this lesson better than le printemps in Paris. Because, simply put, springtime here is a waiting game.

This surprised me at first, as I’ve always had one idea of this season lodged deep in my psyche: April in Paris, that Technicolor fantasy of the City of Light at its most majestic. Yet the reality? This part of year is not the Paris I’d pictured—at least, not all at once. Here, spring reveals its goodness layer by layer. I know now that it takes time to feel that first hint of warmth that allows you to remove a thick scarf or put away a pair of gloves. I wander through my neighborhood market on boulevard Richard-Lenoir with a patient smile, knowing that color and abundance will eventually make its way into my basket. And, as tough as it is, I know I’ll need to hold on longer than I’d like for the ultimate “La Vie en Rose” moment—when the cherry blossoms explode into bloom, promising picnics sprinkled with a confetti of soft pink in places like the Palais-Royal, or, when we’re adventurous, the Parc de Sceaux outside the city.

It’ll all come in due time. But what’s there for comfort as I wait for the baskets of cherries that will inevitably end up in the Pistachio Cherry Tea cake or the gariguette strawberries and edible flowers that I’ll use in a Marzipan Cake? Chocolate and carbs.

After goûter, my favorite French-ism is lèche-vitrine, or window licking. (Yes, you read that right.) Despite its groan-inducing literal translation, lèche-vitrine is an expression for something divine: when you press your face close to the window of a shop in order to salivate over the beauty displayed inside . . . an experience that’s never too few and far between here in France, especially around Pâques, the Easter holiday. This is when chocolate comes out in full force. The boutiques of chocolatiers around Paris—their windows worthy of a lick any season—all compete to craft the year’s most lavish concoctions. In the windows, and along the counters, of names like La Maison du Chocolat, Patrick Roger, Debauve & Gallais—one of the city’s oldest shops—and the newest kid on the chocolat block, Alain Ducasse, you’ll find imaginative takes on chocolate eggs (with hidden candies inside); all manner of chocolate fish, lobsters, oysters, and shells, often filled with hazelnutty praliné; and chocolate versions of les cloches de Pâques, or Easter bells, rumored to fly from Rome to deliver treats to children on Easter morning. Even more over the top? The chocolate fest at Paris’s ultraluxe palace hotels, where Michelin-starred pastry chefs try to outdo each other as they unveil their own Easter creations, often an outrageously elaborate egg made to be shared, if you’re lucky, at an elegant goûter or afternoon tea with friends at one of the hotels’ extravagant salons.

Afterward, if the weather’s right, there’s a chance you’ll spot us rummaging at a nearby brocante, or local flea market. Spring is the time of year these weekend sales sprout back up after their winter hibernation, offering treasure hunters and antique collectors the chance to score deals on beautiful vintage finds. My favorite brocante happens to pop up near my home, the Brocante de la rue de Bretagne, where I’ll scour the stalls for items to add to my collections of dessert plates and forks, platters and molds for cakes, servers (called pelles à tarte), and compotiers, old pedestaled bowls meant for fruit or compote that just happen to make excellent cake stands.

Carrying them home, I envision what will soon be served upon them: the Charlotte Rose topped with ripened red berries, a refreshing coconut and pineapple cake, or perhaps a tarte à la rhubarb. Because, just when I think I can’t hold out much longer, the signs appear that the best part of the season has arrived. The warmth stays longer than three days in a row. The fuchsia magnolias begin to bud on the Champ-de-Mars, followed quickly by a cherry blossom bonanza. And, at my favorite markets in town, from the Marché Bastille to the Marché Saxe-Breteuil, I spot the biggest signals of all—the very first sightings of bright rhubarb and fat blackberries, of ripened apricots, cherries, and, yes (finally!), decadent strawberries. They’ll be the basis for the baked goods that will soon be filling my oven, my kitchen, and the hands of friends joining me for a goûter beneath rows of pastel-petalled trees or simply gathered at my table, next to an open window, the afternoon breeze gently dancing through it.

And I believe we’ll all agree the payoff was worth the wait.

Treasure Hunting at a Paris Flea Market

Hunting for treasures at a fabulous flea market, or brocante, is one of my favorite pastimes, and here in France, there’s even a verb for such an activity. Chiner literally means to hunt for rare or old objects. Le Marché aux Puces, located in Saint-Ouen, just north of Paris, is said to be the oldest and largest in the world. Navigating its stalls, all stuffed with curiosities, can be overwhelming, so here are some tips from a seasoned flea market flâneur.

1) Finding a flea market. Look for signs that pop up around the neighborhood, advertising an upcoming weekend brocante, or visit websites such as brocabrac.fr/75 for the most up-to-date information.

2) Arrive early, by 9:30 am, before the crowds, and you are likely to score that one-of-a-kind item before someone else spots it. I like to grab my coffee and croissant to go on mornings that I plan to be a serious shopper versus leisurely afternoon visits that are more for window shopping and photo taking.

3) Bring cash, as most vendors don’t have credit card machines and—an added bonus—with cash in hand, you are likely to get a better deal. It never hurts to haggle a bit, though the prices at Saint-Ouen are more fixed than a more casual neighborhood flea market.

4) It’s fun to throw a tea party with unique pieces on the table that your guests might want to know the story of, so I am always on the lookout for various dessert plates, teacups, saucers, and théières (teapots) to add to my collection. Having smaller, incomplete sets allows you to mix and match styles when hosting everything from an afternoon goûter to an el...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Dedication
• Contents
• Introduction
• Chapter 1. Spring/Le Printemps
• Chapter 2. Summer/L’Été
• Chapter 3. Fall/L’Automne
• Chapter 4. Winter/L’Hiver
• Chapter 5. Celebrations/Les Fêtes
• Paris Addresses
• Acknowledgments
• Index
• About the Author
• Copyright
• About the Publisher